I think I miss Ohio…. a little

I grew up near Cleveland Ohio.  I always asked my parents why they chose to live in Ohio, out of all the possible choices.  They explained that their family was close,  and although they moved away when they were young, they settled in Ohio once they had kids.  At the time I thought it was crazy that someone would pass up a coastal warm climate for dreary Ohio.  Now I get it…
While it may be a little dreary at times in the winter, it is beautiful in the summer.   
 
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is near my parents house, as well as other local parks.
My family loves hiking, so many of our days were spent enjoying this….
 
Florida is great, but they don’t have green trees or forests quite like this. Oh, and don't forget the fall colors!  It's been 8 years since I've seen northern fall.  I always heard non-native Floridians say they miss the seasons, and I thought they were crazy.  Who wouldn't love warm weather all the time.  
  
Now I get it!

Linking with Photo Friday

Drool

   

Everything goes in the mouth, he constantly has small waterfalls dribbling from his mouth. 

I’m not the biggest fan of bibs, but don’t want him covered in spit.  What do you think?  Bib, or no bib?

Our little family

This is only the third picture of our little family!  There are a ton of pictures of Kyton, some of Kyton and Dylan, a handful with me and Kyton, and three of our family.

I love my camera, but it is difficult for strangers to use.  How do you make sure to have plenty of family pictures?

I Think I Married Superman

Thursday was my last day home, so we walked to Dylan’s work for a quick visit.  Here he is on his last day for a little while.  

Friday we switched roles and Dylan took over care of our Kyton. This was me before work.  It was a work day, so I didn’t have to dress up hence the casual clothes.  Walking out the door was hard, but I’m sure much easier than if I left him at daycare with a stranger.  I KNOW he’s in good hands. 


I came home at lunch to find this…
  
A happy baby, and an appropriate shirt! He was even wearing pants, since it is finally cool enough around here to do so. 

Apparently Dylan’s hair was messy, so I was only allowed this picture of his stay at home dad (for that day) wardrobe. 
During Dylan’s first day as a stay at home dad he managed to keep the baby happy, fed and even got him down for a few naps.  This in itself would have been enough for me, but I realized that he also cleaned the bathrooms, fixed the ice-cream scoop, washed the dishes and put them away and ran a load of laundry. He even made me dinner since we were going to a friend’s house and they would have only food I don’t eat.  On my very first day at home with Ky, granted the baby was a week old, I only managed to feed him, and don’t even think I found time to eat myself. 
Sounds like Superman to me!

Shades

We were not sure how he’d feel wearing sunglasses, but apparently he realized how cool they make him look. 

… and then he realized they were fun to play with. 

I’m missing this boy today as I spend my first day back at work.

For I know the plans I have for you

I’ve thought about God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11 often recently.  Here’s what I wish this verse said:
For I know Let me tell you right now the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future everything you need or want right now. (NIV & The bible according to Carly)
I am going back to work on Friday.  I should start by saying that I really enjoy my job and find it incredibly fulfilling.  Like most, if not all new moms I’m having a hard time being away from my baby.  The longest stretch of time that I’ve been away from my little boy was 3 hours.  I can count on my hand the number of times we’ve been apart from each other.  I know that I am incredibly lucky that I’ve been able to spend his first 18 weeks with him.  I know many working moms don’t have that opportunity, so I am trying to keep it in perspective.  Part of me feels like I would be less attached to him if I had gone to work earlier, but then I realize it is never easy.
I feel like I’ve been living a dream these past 18 weeks.  I love babies, and love MY baby even more.  It’s always been a dream of mine to be a stay at home mom.  My days consisted of taking care of and playing with my sweet little boy.  We also got to know other babies, moms, and dads through a few groups that we are a part of.  We would meet for play dates at houses, or local attractions, and kept busy pretty much every day of the week. 
For the time being Dylan is taking FMLA and will be staying home with Kyton, making the transition slightly easier.  I won’t have to worry about getting a baby off to daycare, and while I am feeding Kyton in the morning Dylan can pack my lunch and bring me breakfast.  Since I am not allowed to nurse at work, the plan is for Dylan to bring Kyton to me so that I can feed him in the car just off property during my 30 minute lunch.
If you pray, would you say a prayer for our family as we make this difficult transition?

Since no post is complete without pictures of my little red-head, here are a few shots from one of our daily photo sessions.
 

Linking with Shell

4 months

I’m happy to report that I’ve continued my tradition of taking a picture a day of my boy.  ( 1 month in pictures, 2 months in pictures, 3 months in pictures)  I’ll be honest, some days I just take a picture to get it in, and other days I get really into it.  I find it difficult to take my camera with me when I go out since there is so much baby gear these days, so most of the time the picture is taken at home.  Enjoy!

September 18 – Watching the Steelers game with daddy

Sept 19 – For the second week in a row Kyton had an 8 oz. lunch.  He stayed in the nursery for the first time at the hospital while mommy worked out. This was the first time he was cared for by non-family and he did great. 

Sept 20 – Went on a play date today. 

Sept 21 – Library story time and Ky did not fall asleep this week!

Sept 22 – Chillin’ in the Mamaroo 

Sept 23 – Took daddy to Blink the Door where he was given VIP treatment.

Sept 24 – We met Craig in St. Cloud for a photo session. Ky slept through most of it.  We tried sunglasses for the first time.

Sept 25 – We had a Steeler’s party & dressed Ky up in black and Gold.  Started using B sound and buzzing lips. Kyton tried out the jumparoo for the first time.  He enjoyed it, but only for a short time.

Sept 26 – 17 lbs 10 oz today.  Kyton stayed in the nursery again while mommy worked out and did great.  The reports were of smiles and swinging.

September 27 – Relaxed today and went for a long walk.

September 28 -  Kyton showed the babies at Story time how he can sit up like a big boy. They are all older than him, and can walk and crawl, but he enjoys watching them. 

September 29th - Went on another long 5 mile walk

September 30 - Kyton went with mommy and daddy to bible study at Chris’s house.  Kyton was a little sleepy and had a difficult time. 

October 1 - We decided to try taking Kyton camping.  Our boy loves being outdoors and was as happy as could be sitting on a blanket under a tree.
 

October 2 – Camping day 2, Kyton did really well camping, and enjoyed a morning hike.  On the way back from camping we stopped at a party, and  our social man was as sweet as can be.
  

October 3 – Kyton is still steadily gaining weight.  We had a nice time at baby group today, and Kyton fell asleep as we were leaving.  He remained asleep in the car, and transferred to his bed.  He slept about 3 hours total!

October 4 – We went to Magnus’s house for a play date today.

October 5 – Kyton loved story time at the library. He’s getting to that interactive age where he loves looking around.  He really enjoyed the story and songs. 

October 6 – We went to a mom’s bible study this evening and Kyton fell asleep at the end. It was a little bit of a rough night and Kyton had to be put to sleep three times. 

October 7– Kyton and mommy met some friends at Sea World. Kyton slept for over 3 hours, which is really unusual!   He was in a good mood in the evening when we went to Chris’s house.

October 8 – Daddy spent a lot of time playing with Kyton today, and learning what he likes.  We went to a party, and Kyton enjoyed getting passed around.  He’s such a great baby!

October 9 – Watched football today. The Steelers were playing, what else would we do? 

October 10 – Kyton was a real ham today at baby group.  He was talking with all of the babies and their mom’s.  He became a little adjitated when Renee did not talk back to him.  Mommy was a little relieved that Kyton did not gain anything in the past week. 

October 11 – We were supposed to meet some friends at the splash pad today, but the rain interfered. Took a walk with mommy, and another walk later on with mommy and daddy.  Kyton really enjoyed bath time today.

October 12 – inconsolable at story time today, we ended up leaving early since the whole library could hear Kyton.  We met Casey for a walk today. 

October 13 – listening to daddy drum in the garage.

October 14- great at Chris’s house tonight

October 15 – Kyton stayed with Paula while m&d went out for their first date since Kyton  was born.

October 16 – Epcot for the food and wine festival with some baby friends and their parents

October 17- Our normal Monday routine included a visit to the nursery at the hospital, where Kyton was wonderful as always, followed by baby group.  Kyton was great afterwards, so we did some shopping. 

I go back to work at the end of this week, so I’m not sure if I’ll be motivated to, or able to keep up with the picture a day.  Also, I used larger pictures this month.  Was it easier to see, or did the post seem too long?  Thanks for visiting!